Learning Expeditions & Trade Missions

With FACCNE, explore the dynamic New England business ecosystem - from the inside.

A FACCNE Learning Expedition is a fully curated, end-to-end immersion into the New England business ecosystem - built around your delegation's specific goals and industries. Designed for companies, universities, business schools, chambers of commerce, and other delegations, it's a turnkey solution for understanding the North American business world from the inside.

From a half-day to a full week, participants move through the region's most dynamic organizations: meeting C-suite executives, touring innovation labs, connecting with startup founders at Harvard Innovation Labs and MIT, and engaging with companies shaping sectors from life sciences to fintech to climate tech. Every meeting, every site visit, every connection is arranged by FACCNE - drawing on relationships built over decades at the intersection of French and American business.

What a FACCNE Learning Expedition looks like in practice

No two expeditions are alike, but here's a sense of what a recent five-day program for a French Business School delegation included:

A deep dive into urban mobility and smart cities, with presentations from Keolis North America, Boston's Office of New Urban Mechanics, and a visit to indiGOtech in Woburn
An afternoon at Harvard Innovation Labs, meeting with startup founders and the HiL leadership team
A fireside chat and lab tour at Servier Pharmaceuticals, followed by a meeting with Treefrog Therapeutics in Cambridge's biotech corridor
A morning at Dassault Systèmes' Waltham campus, exploring sustainability innovation and a hands-on FabLab session
A session with Fidelity Institutional's Head of Advanced Analytics and AI, and demonstrations at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab
An evening at Venture Café's Thursday Gathering - one of Boston's premier innovation networking events

Each day was organized around a strategic theme - mobility, life sciences, sustainability, fintech - giving participants both breadth and depth across the New England economy.

Why FACCNE?

FACCNE's network spans anchor corporations like Sanofi, Dassault Systèmes, Ipsen, Servier, and Keolis, as well as startups, universities, and civic institutions. That network is what turns a trip to Boston into a genuine business expedition.

Step inside the organizations defining tomorrow's economy — from biotech labs to AI research centers to clean energy ventures
Engage directly with founders, executives, and innovators shaping their industries
Understand the cultural and strategic dynamics of doing business in North America
Leave with a concrete network and a clearer vision for your next move

How It Works

Step 1 — Initial Consultation
We start with a call to understand your organization's goals, sector focus, and timeline. This conversation shapes everything that follows.

Step 2 — Program Design
Once we've aligned on objectives, our team designs the full itinerary - mapping out visits, speakers, and experiences that match your priorities, along with logistics like dates, venues, and transportation.

Step 3 — Speaker & Partner Outreach
We tap our network to identify and confirm the right organizations and speakers for your group - whether that's a Fortune 500 executive, a startup founder, a university lab, or a civic leader. Every engagement is selected with your goals in mind.

Step 4 — On-Site Coordination
When your delegation arrives, FACCNE is with you. We manage schedules, handle logistics, and troubleshoot on the fly - so your team can focus entirely on the meetings and the learning.

Step 5 — Accompaniment & Facilitation
Throughout the expedition, our team facilitates introductions, provides context, and ensures every interaction is as productive as possible.

Step 6 — Post-Expedition Debrief
After the program wraps, we gather feedback and evaluate outcomes against your original objectives - informing how we improve and supporting any follow-up connections you want to pursue.

Ready to bring your delegation to Boston? Contact us to start planning your Learning Expedition or Trade Mission.